


The flower and the bomb

by Franthefaerie



Category: DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Abuse, Alcohol, Bisexual Female Character, Broken Bones, Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, Fluff, LGBT, Lesbian Character, Multi, Physical Abuse, aftermath of physical abuse, soft, wlw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-11-13 01:37:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18022346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Franthefaerie/pseuds/Franthefaerie
Summary: Harley moved closer to Ivy and nuzzled into her chest. Ivy could feel Harley’s hot breath on her skin and she shivered. It had been such a long time since she had felt heat like that. The air of innocence in this embrace made Ivy feel both cold and warm at the same time.





	1. Until next time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harley looked up at Ivy, “I love ya, Pamela.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is soft and has no heavy depictions of abuse, only the aftermath If abuse triggers you please do not read chapter 2 and stay safe!!

Harley brushed her fingers lightly over the fresh scrapes and bruises on her pale skin, flashes appearing in front of her eyes as she remembers how they got there.  
At that exact moment, Ivy came up behind her and softly tapped her shoulder.  
“Red, ya startled me!” Harley jumped.  
Ivy laughed softly and replied, “The tap was supposed to warn you, I guess I need to work on that then, huh?”  
“Ya bet ya do Red,” Harley smiled weakly. Ivy was staring at Harley’s semi-naked body in the mirror, sadness washing over her face.  
“Oh Harls, I’m so sorry. I should have been there for you,” Ivy whispered as she stroked a single finger down Harley’s spine. Bringing Harley in closer.  
“Shucks Red, I know ya like me ‘n’ all but ya can’t always be beside me ya know!” Harley laughed to lighten the mood, humour was a powerful tool.  
“No, but I wish I could be,” Ivy sighed quietly. She turned Harley around to face her. “Let’s get you fixed up, shall we?” Harley winced slightly as Ivy disinfected her wounds and gave her a few stitches. It didn’t hurt as much as it should have but she was too busy staring into Ivy’s deep, sorrowful eyes. “That should do, I’ll go find you some clothes,” Ivy exhaled before standing up to go fetch Harley something to wear.  
As soon as she left Harley followed her like a lost puppy and ended up standing in Ivy’s surprisingly very red bedroom. The shades of the bedsheets blended into the way the walls were painted. It felt cosy and safe in here. Harley smiled. She was watching Ivy fumbling around her drawers, unaware of Harley’s presence. She decided to slide out of the remainder of her clothes whilst she waited for Pam to find something.  
  


* * *

Ivy turned around holding a silky pink nightie; realising Harley was nude “Oh, Harley, I-I’m sorry, here.” She made a feeble attempt at conversation to distract Harley from the blush spread across her face. Harley slowly walked over to Ivy to grab the nightie and Ivy’s mind whirled as she watched the woman she was in love with, walk towards her in her most natural state of beauty.  
“Thanks a bunch, Red,” Harley said cheerily, shattering the silence. She slid it over her athletic frame and climbed into bed. Ivy was stunned at how oblivious Harley was of Ivy’s feelings, or maybe she knew but her heart was placed in the hands of a monster with too tight a grip. She changed into a baby blue nightie and got under the covers beside Harley.  
Harley turned to face her, grunting in the process from the pain. She looked stunning, her big blue eyes made Ivy feel the need to protect her, no matter the cost.  
“Hey, Pam-a-lamb, whatcha thinkin’ ‘bout,” Harley said, staring intently into Ivy’s eyes.  
“Nothing of importance, babe,” Ivy smiled.  
Harley moved closer to Ivy and nuzzled into her chest. Ivy could feel Harley’s hot breath on her skin and she shivered. It had been such a long time since she had felt heat like that. The air of innocence in this embrace made Ivy feel both cold and warm at the same time. Like a log fire, you’re watching from through a window. She wrapped her arms around Harley, being careful not to put pressure on her wounds. She felt Harley smile.  
  
“Red?” Harley tensed up.  
“Yes?” Ivy replied instantly, fearing the worst.  
Harley looked up at Ivy, “I love ya, Pamela.”  
Ivy could barely breathe. Did she mean it the same way she loved Harley, she couldn’t right? “What are you saying to me?” was all she could string together.  
“I love ya, more than ya know,” Harley whispered, tears forming in her eyes, making them truly look like a gentle ocean.  
“Are y-you…” Ivy began but was soon interrupted by Harley’s lips.  
  
Ivy stopped trying to reason with Harley, the answer was right here. She sat up, bringing Harley with her and held her waist. Harley pressed herself against Ivy as closely as she could like she was trying to make sure she wouldn’t have to be alone again. Their kiss deepening into a passionate love-crazed one. Harley placed her hand on Ivy’s thigh and began traced it up her body until it cupped her face. Ivy was breathing heavily in between the kisses, adrenaline rushing through her. Her skin turning from a calming green to a blush red colour. She rolled on top of Harley and began kissing her neck with the most tender lips.  
Harley gasped sharply and froze. Ivy stopped immediately.  
  
“I-I can’t do it, Red, I’m sorry. I just remember when he… “Harley said frantically before Ivy stopped her “Harley, it’s okay, listen to me, I PROMISE you, It’s okay. What do you need from me right now?”  
Gripping her legs tightly with both arms, she barely whispered: “Just to lay in your arms.”  
  
Ivy watched the steady rise and fall of Harley’s chest, after calming her down, they had cuddled up in bed. Ivy had stroked Harley’s hair gently until she fell asleep. Ivy took in this moment for she was unsure if she would get another. The love Ivy felt towards Harley was so deeply rooted at her core that she knew trying to rip it out would kill her.  
The way Harley’s eyelashes flicked up at the end, to the few freckles that speckled her face; everything, all of it, was perfect.  
  


* * *

Waking up the next morning, Ivy was alone as she had expected. A note written in red lipstick was propped up on her bedside table. She picked up and rubbed the sleep from the corners of her eyes.  
  
‘Dear Red, I think the world a ya.  
Thankies for last night but I have to leave. I’m needed elsewhere, I hope you understand.  
One day there will be a time and a place where we can grow, but it is not now.  
Love, your fantabulous Harls’  
  
She held the note to her chest and closed her eyes. How many moons would pass before she would ever see the woman holding her heart again? Looking to her side she saw strands of Harley’s black and red hair on her bedsheets. She could have cried, but that wasn’t going to happen. Instead, she would get back to her research and attempt to push Harley from her mind, until it was time for them to meet again.


	2. A Rough Diamond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Tut, Tut, Harley, you were just a rough cut diamond, my dear,” Joker smiled tauntingly.

Consciousness was hard, heavy. The purple and blue hues that swirled around the black were always light and hazy though. She liked to find the beautiful undertones in the darkness, otherwise, she’d go TRULY mad. Mad like him. Nothing terrified her more than the possibility he would stretch and break her mind beyond repair. Yet she clung on with all her might. Inhaling his foul words and taking his punches.  
“Call me ‘Mistah J’ ONE more god damn time and I will feed you to the sharks!” the Joker screamed with fury as he repeatedly kicked Harley in the rib cage. Occasionally stomping on her head for good measure. “Remember dear Harley, you are nothing without me. Don’t be mistaken.” With that, he spat on her and left the room.

 

Harley picked herself up and wiped the spit from her cheek. Tears welling in her eyes, she bit her lip and held in a sob. She blinked until the tears dried up and then, slowly, she sat on the beanie bag next to her. She looked horrific. The constant bruising and wounds coupled with the vicious words were clearly having a long-term effect on her. She looked over at the dead flower on the living room table and her mind began to wonder to a certain redhead. She pushed her broken finger down hard to deter herself. There was no point remembering what is lost. Joker let her keep that single flower in plain view just to watch Harley desperately try to avoid helping it as it wilted away. It had been dead for weeks now, but he told her not to throw it away, with a wicked grin on his face. She was sure he had changed his location to abuse Harley to that room, so she could be tortured by that exact dead flower as she picked herself up. She had left Ivy’s house 3 months ago and since then the misery in her life had twisted into a level she was no longer she could survive.  
She sat there with the flower in silence for the next 5 hours, not moving.

 

That night she crawled into the dog’s bed, where she’d been banished to for the foreseeable future, and rested her head down. Her dogs weren’t here anymore, she didn’t know where they were, but she did know that she’d rather keep it that way. Her sleep was short and broken. She’d wake up, drenched with sweat from her nightmares. They ranged from her dogs to the Joker’s abuse, to Ivy’s death. It was always the same.

 

She woke up from the shock of the cold water being thrown over her battered body.  
“Rise and shine my little clown princess, it’s time for you to redeem yourself!” he said in a dramatic fashion.  
Harley noted he was more dressed up than usual which of course for him, made him look like a one-man circus.  
“Some…business associates, shall we say, have double-crossed me and think they can get away with it. I need YOU, my little diamond, to help me destroy them.” The way he spoke was almost bored as if he hadn’t just hinted at ending lives.  
“O-of course, anything!” Harley almost jumped up. This brought a wicked grin to Joker’s face.  
“I want you to go as bait, lure them in and then I can have some fun,” he continued, “Oh, fun? Yes, perfect. Lure them back ‘” for some fun” that should work.”  
Harley felt the pit of her stomach shrivel up, this wasn’t a good idea and she knew it. What were her choices though?  
“Be a doll and change into this, we have no time to waste!” he emptied a bag out over the floor before skipping out of the kitchen, to plan how he would torture his victims. 

Harley picked up the black mini dress up from the floor and the red diamond earrings and necklace that were now scattered over the floor. Scratching her head, she sighed and then left to go shower. 

 

The bar was smoky and smelt of musky men. She walked slowly over to the bar and bent over slightly, taking note of her admirers. “Can I have water with ice and a melon please?” Harley asked pleasantly.  
“Sup, Sugar bear,” a heavily intoxicated man said.  
She instantly recognised him from the photos Mr J showed her. “Hello Mr,” she smiled back and put out her hand for him to kiss. He did so whilst staring hungrily into her eyes. He sat on the barstool next to her and ordered another drink. “What brings a fine lass as yourself down these parts?” he sniffed. Harley’s body tensed up as she realising she’d been set up. Joker was trying to kill her.  
Immediately she replied, “Trying to warn you.”  
His face shocked by both her answer and Joker smashing the door down not a second later. 

Harley whirled around and dodged a glass being thrown at her.  
“YOU REALLY THOUGHT YOU COULD GO TO IVY, THEN CRAWL BACK TO ME AFTERWARDS AND LIVE?!” His voice ripping through the floorboards.  
She was sure of it, this time he was really going to kill her. With every step he took, her breaths got shorter. Until they stopped completely at the sight of his knife  
“Well dear Harleen Francis Qunizel, my beloved Harley Quinn, the clown princess, it seems your fate has finally come to it’s finish line,” Joker smiled sweetly, “Don’t get me wrong sugar, I had a hoot of a time breaking your bones, using your mind, moulding you like dough and pretending to love you, I just think it’s time for a new and IMPROVED Harley Quinn.”  
She began to sob, ugly and raw and heart wrenching. The sound of Joker’s laugh drowning out her cries.  
“Any last words, HARLS,” He spat.  
Between sobs, Harley replied, “Y-You…You can NEVER replace me… you god damn imbecile!”  
“Tut, Tut, Harley, you were just a rough cut diamond, my dear,” Joker smiled tauntingly. 

The knife glinted as it sliced towards Harley’s neck.


End file.
